Even though teams were entered from multiple states, it was a pair of Las Vegas teams that won first place in the Men’s Divisions.
The 2nd Annual Lone Star Shootout World Tournament was played Oct. 29 at Big League Dreams in Las Vegas. The magnificent six-field complex features Field Turf infields, and each of the fields is a replica of a current or former Major League ballpark, including Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium and Crosley Field. The complex is conve¬niently located about a mile north of the popular Las Vegas Strip in the former Freedom Park.
In the Men’s D Division, Anytime Garage from Las Vegas went undefeated through four games to capture the championship. Anytime Garage defeated the Sin City Stars from Henderson, NV (11-10), Team Diesel/Shook & Stone from North Las Vegas (16-4) and the Freaks from Austin, TX (20-8) to advance to the championship game, where they beat cross-town rival Resistance from Las Vegas (18-10). Resistance had lost their first game of the tournament, before winning six straight in the loser’s bracket to reach the championship game and settling for second place with a 6-2 record.
A pair of Texas teams finished third and fourth respectively in the division, as the Freaks came in third place with a 2-2 record, while Tribe Del Rio from Del Rio, TX finished fourth with a 4-2 mark. The Brewskies/Worth from Katy, TX and Team Diesel/Shook & Stone tied for fifth place, and JV Trucking from Brownsville, TX and the Sin City Stars tied for seventh.
Members of the All-World Tournament team included Billy Osgood, Nate Newman, Owen Ondrisko and Chris Trzaska, from Anytime Garage; Rich Lawton, Tom Stetter and Shane Cole, from Resistance; George Alba, David Vidaure and Kyle Staff, from Freaks; and Gerardo Garcia and Jesse Morales, from Tribe Del Rio.
In the Men’s E Bracket, Surefire from Las Vegas also went undefeated through four games to win the championship. Surefire defeated the Woodchuckers from Las Vegas (29-6), Fired Up/RSK from Las Vegas (15-3) and the Dirty Sox from Conroe, TX (20-8) to advance to the championship game. After losing to Surefire, the Dirty Sox dropped to the loser’s bracket and knocked off No Bat Control from Ventura, CA (24-10) to earn another shot at Surefire in the finals. The title bout was close, before Surefire pulled away at the end to claim the crown with a 12-9 victory. The Dirty Sox settled for second place with a 3-2 record.
After losing their first two games of the three-game guarantee tournament, No Bat Control rallied to win four games in the loser’s bracket to earn an impressive third place finish with a 4-3 record. Fired Up/RSK came in fourth with a 2-2 mark. The Guzzlers from Victorville, CA and Where’s My Pitches At from Las Vegas tied for fifth place, while All State Fence from Portland, OR and Cyber Draft from Las Vegas tied for seventh.
Members of the All-World Tournament team included Joe Ward, Justin Long, Willie Taveras and Eric Eigenrauch, from Surefire; Brandon Maggard, Josh Barrett, Jerry Erhardt, from Dirty Sox; Vince McMahon, Joey Navarro and Gabriel Vargas, from No Bat Control; and Matt Mailhot and Justin Vandermeer, from Fired Up.
There was also a small Co-ed Division, where teams played a round-robin schedule followed by a playoff. Team C-No-Evil from San Marcos, TX won first place, followed by No Bat Control from Ventura, CA in second, and 90 Proof from Las Vegas in third.
The tournament was a success with the support of General Manager Ed Farmer and his staff at Big League Dreams, as well as assistance provided by Nevada USSSA State Director Tom Pfundstein and Nevada USSSA Umpire-In-Chief Ernie Gum. Lone Star Softball was represented by Tournament Director Scott Duffy and Umpire-In-Chief Ben Templeton.
The generosity of Texas softball players helped make the lives of United State military personnel serving in the Middle East a little more enjoyable by providing them with equipment to be able to play slow-pitch softball in their spare time.
Lone Star Softball hosted a pair of “Support Our Troops” Shootouts, as a part of its WORTH Lone Star Shootout State Championship Series. The first was held Aug. 27-28 at Big League Dreams in Mansfield, TX and the other on Sept. 10-11 at Big League Dreams in League City, TX.
Players in both events donated bats, balls, gloves, shoes, bat bags, pants, jerseys, caps, batting gloves and other equipment. Lone Star Softball boxed up the equipment and delivered it to the U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, TX where it accompanied the next platoon heading over to serve in the Middle East.
This marked the third year for Lone Star Softball to establish leagues at military bases overseas. In 2009, a league was started in Baghdad, Iraq and in 2010 a league was established in Khandahar, Afghanistan.
About USSSA:
The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), headquartered in Osceola County, Florida, USSSA is the World's Largest Multi-sport Athletic Organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 3.7 million participants, competing in 13 nationally sanctioned sports including Baseball, Fastpitch, Slow Pitch, Karate, Basketball, Soccer and more! For more information on USSSA and to register your team visit USSSA.com. Also be sure to visit USSSAToday.com for the latest USSSA News!
